INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Thursday, September 5, 2002
Susan V. Thompson, ed.
Read online or subscribe at: http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3
CONTENTS
1. Introduction: A Tool Kit for Discussion
2. One Link: A Glossary of Terms
3. Right vs. Left
4. Liberalism vs. Conservatism
5. Anarchism
6. Marxism, Socialism, and Communism
7. Libertarianism
8. Fascism
9. Other Resources
10. Credits
11. Get Involved
12. About the Bulletin
INTRODUCTION: A TOOL KIT FOR DISCUSSION
Terms like right and left, liberal and conservative, socialist,
communist, anarchist, etc. are used frequently in political discussions.
But people frequently misunderstand or confuse the actual political
ideologies that these terms refer to. We don't all have degrees in
political science, and such terms are often loaded with assumptions that
more accurately reflect the political leanings of the person using them
than the ideologies themselves.
In an effort to clear up some of these misunderstandings, we are offering
an online guide to political ideologies. This bulletin is meant to be an
introduction to the most commonly mentioned political ideologies,
including their definitions, frequently asked questions about them,
criticisms of them, and their general positions on war with a look at the
war on terrorism in particular (where possible). We try to treat all
ideologies fairly, despite our own leanings. Ultimately, we hope that it
will help you to approach others with more knowledge and understanding.
Note: Of course, we also recommend that you don't end your research about
the various ideologies here. There is a wealth of information out there
which examines these ideologies in far more depth and detail.
ONE LINK: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS
This excellent glossary of political and economic terms provides
information on everything from anarchism to capitalism to "pork barrel"
to "welfare state" in an easy-to-use and understandable format. If you
have a question about a political term, chances are you can look it up
here. Definitions from this glossary are used in several places
throughout the rest of the bulletin.
http://www.duc.auburn.edu/~johnspm/glossind.html
RIGHT VS. LEFT
The traditional political spectrum places people on a line somewhere
between "left" and "right." These terms originated with the seating
arrangements of the French Assembly in the 1790s, where the monarchists
sat on the right, and the republicans on the left. In current usage,
especially in the US, left is generally associated with liberalism and
right with conservatism.
This page on teaching the political spectrum includes a diagram of the
traditional political spectrum, and includes summaries of liberal and
conservative viewpoints.
http://www.lahapkido.com/teach.html
Left-wing or leftist are:
"General descriptive terms for any of several otherwise quite varied
political ideologies (socialism, communism, social democracy, welfare
statism, contemporary American liberalism, some versions of anarchism,,
etc.) that join in denouncing the extent of economic and social
inequality in the present order of society and advocate the adoption of
vigorous public policies to reduce or eliminate these inequalities"
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/left-wing.html
Right-wing or rightist is:
"A general descriptive term for any of several otherwise rather
different, conservative, reactionary or fascist political ideologies, the
common denominator of which is their qualified or enthusiastic support
for the main features of the current social and economic order, accepting
all (or nearly all) of its inequalities of wealth, status and privilege
(or even in some cases support for a return to an earlier, even more
inegalitarian and hierarchical political-economic order.)"
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/right-wing.html
This page lists some of the differences between the left and right in the
US, as taken from the Left Guide and the Right Guide, which drew
conclusions about the general characteristics after performing a survey
of organizations.
http://nj.npri.org/nj98/03/left_right.htm
If you aren't sure what your political ideology is, you can take the
World's Smallest Political Quiz, which places you on a diamond-shaped
political spectrum (rather than the standard left/right straight line).
Bear in mind that it is a libertarian quiz. Still, it's a good tool for
helping you to determine roughly where you fit.
http://www.self-gov.org/wspq.html
LIBERALISM VS. CONSERVATISM
Liberalism
The term liberalism has a different meaning in Europe than in the US. In
Europe, liberalism refers to a 19th century political ideology which is
partially concerned with removing inhibitions on the capitalist economy,
while in the US it has come to mean an ideology that advocates a stronger
regulatory role for government, while still advocating civil liberties
and progressive values.
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/liberalism.html
According to this European definition of liberalism:
"The word liberal is derived from the Latin liber, free, and up to the
end of the eighteenth century signified only 'worthy of a free man', so
that people spoke of 'liberal arts', 'liberal occupations'. Later the
term was applied also to those qualities of intellect and of character,
which were considered an ornament becoming those who occupied a higher
social position on account of their wealth and education. Thus liberal
got the meaning of intellectually independent, broad-minded, magnanimous,
frank, open, and genial. Again Liberalism may also mean a political
system or tendency opposed to centralization and absolutism."
The definition of liberalism is followed by short descriptions of several
different kinds of liberalism.
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/defnlibr.htm
This liberalism FAQ provides a clearer and more concise definition of
liberalism as it is generally meant today (and in the US), and answers
questions about the differences between liberalism and socialism and what
liberals believe. The liberal view of war, according to this FAQ, is as
follows:
"Some liberals model their beliefs after Mahatma Gandhi, in that they are
absolute pacifists, renouncing violence for any reason. However, most
liberals see a legitimate need for self-defense, even on a national level
with armed forces. The fight against Hitler is a commonly cited example.
But liberals are united in their view that offensive military operations
are wrong."
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=122
This is a list of some US-based liberal organizations.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=123
Conservatism
Conservatism is generally used to mean:
"A general preference for the existing order of society and an opposition
to all efforts to bring about rapid or fundamental change in that order.
Conservative ideologies characteristically strive to show that existing
economic and political inequalities are well justified and that the
existing order is about as close as is practically attainable to an ideal
order. Conservative ideologies most often base their claims on the
teachings of religion and traditional morality and tend to downplay the
reliability of purely rational or deductive social theories propounded by
secular philosophers, economists, and other social thinkers."
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/conservatism.html
According to this FAQ on conservatism (by a conservative), conservatism
is largely about allowing tradition to mediate individual thought.
http://www.counterrevolution.net/consfaq.html
ConservativeTruth.org bills itself as dedicated to offering you the news
that the "liberal slant" in the major media censors. According to their
site, most Americans are conservative, since:
"Most Americans believe that patriotism is a good thing; that government
should be kept out of religion, but that our Founding Fathers never
intended to keep religion out of public life; that murder of an unborn
child is wrong; that homosexuals should not be given special privileges;
and that our children should not be taught revisionist history which
makes them ashamed to be Americans."
http://www.conservativetruth.org/about.shtml
In this article which is critical of the hawkish tendencies of
conservatives, the author states that, "We've been told for years that to
be a 'true' conservative, one must desire a huge military and have a love
for internationalism (imperialism)."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnwell/barnwell13.html
President Bush calls his approach to politics "compassionate
conservatism."
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=124
In this compelling essay, the author examines the relationship between
the war on terrorism and compassionate conservatism as it is defined by
President Bush.
"Bush and his speechwriters are using the language of 'compassionate
conservatism' to tie together all the pillars of their war rhetoric:
national unity, firm resolve to pass the test, and obedience to God^Òs
will, insuring continuing divine guidance. However, they are also using
the language of war to rescue 'compassionate conservatism.' They turn the
genuine compassion of so many Americans into evidence of a 19th
century-style moral reform...this is a vision to warm a conservative^Òs
heart. For conservatives, the victory comes not in eradicating sin, but
in fighting it forever. As long as sin threatens and the whole nation is
mobilized to do battle against it, conservative values and policies will
prosper.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=125
This conservative columnist argues that the US must attack Iraq:
"International law runs counter to our need to take pre-emptive action
against terror. But our leaders swear to uphold the Constitution, not the
United Nations charter or the World Court^Òs laws. In this war, we cannot
simultaneously protect our people and our Constitution and also follow
international law. Such a decision should be easy for our leaders. The
pursuit of a policy of first-strike is not the kind of decision that
politicians generally like to make. But the failure to do so in this war
will mean many more American deaths - thousands more."
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=126
A list of conservative organizations.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=127
A list of US conservative political organizations.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=128
ANARCHISM
Anarchism is "an ideology that regards abolition of government as the
necessary precondition for a free and just society. The term itself comes
from the Greek words meaning 'without a ruler.' Anarchism rejects all
forms of hierarchical authority, social and economic as well as
political." The definition of anarchism provided on this page is followed
by information on anarchist thought and anarchism in practice.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=129
Anarchism FAQ.
http://www.infoshop.org/faq/index.html
There are several methods of decision-making that anarchists may employ,
which include direct democracy, federations and networks, consensus,
affinity groups, and collectives. This page provides links to summaries
of all of these forms of decision-making after a brief introduction on
anarchism's goal of putting principles of non-authoritarianism into
practice.
http://www.radio4all.org/aia/descisionmaking.html
The author of this pamphlet asserts that the mass mobilization of
citizens in a war often empowers them to begin making their own
decisions, and thus can be dangerous for states. He urges anarchists to
build on the popular resistance to the war with the long-term goal of
abolishing the state.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=130
This anarchist analysis of the war in Afghanistan frames it as the result
of decades of war between states; thus imperialism and the competition
between states is the biggest threat to peace.
http://struggle.ws/issues/war/afghan/pamwt/wt2/afghan.html
Anarchists are often labeled as terrorists. This pamphlet attempts to
disprove this notion while admitting that some anarchists employ
violence:
"Anarchists have been labelled as terrorists for many years, despite the
fact that anarchists don't engage in the type of political violence that
is typical of most terrorism. For one thing, many anarchists adhere to
the philosophy of nonviolence. Other anarchists engage in violence, but
it is usually directed at a specific political target, such as a police
officer."
http://www.infoshop.org/terrorism.html
A common critique of anarchism is that it is a
Eurocentric/white/male/middle-class political ideology. As such it may
exclude people of color, women, and other groups. The article linked here
is a feminist critique which acknowledges the attraction of anarchism for
feminists, since it acknowledges that all authoritarian structures, both
economic and otherwise, are the source of oppression. However, she also
highlights the slow acceptance of the idea of the oppression of women by
many anarchists: "Equal recognition of different oppressions avoids
socialism's premise that capitalist class relations are the ultimate form
of oppression through which all other oppressive forces are filtered. It
is impossible to understand, and therefore change, the complexities of
women's oppression (or racial, homosexual oppression) if class and
capitalism are ultimately seen as the origins of injustice. A feminist
relationship to anarchism would mean exploring authoritarian structures
as fundamental to women's oppression and an anarchist relationship to
feminism would mean recognising that patriarchy is a paradigmatic example
of authoritarian structures."
http://www.cat.org.au/vof/versions/guest.htm
Anarchist International is a global anarchist organization.
http://www.anarchy.no/anarchy/ifadok.html
Anarchism is perhaps the polar opposite of totalitarianism, which
involves ultimate government control. Both fascist and communist regimes
can be called "totalitarian" regimes, since they can have the following
characteristics:
"Domination by a single, like-minded governing elite of all (or virtually
all) organized political, economic, social and cultural activities in a
country by means of a single-party monopoly of power, police repression
not only of all forms of dissent and opposition but also of all forms of
independent private organizations as such, rigorous censorship of the
mass media, centralized state planning and administration of the economy,
and pervasive propaganda to inculcate the principles of the obligatory
official ideology."
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/totalitarianism.html
MARXISM, SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM
Marxism, socialism, and communism are often misunderstood, in large part
because they are used as synonyms for one another quite frequently. They
are in fact all closely related, but socialism and communism are not
necessarily the same thing. Marx wrote the seminal works of theory which
described the strengths and weaknesses of the capitalist economic system,
and argued that it would eventually be overthrown in order to bring about
a more just and equal society. This would mean first implementing a
socialist system, followed by a true communist system. According to Marx,
all injustices and inequalities in the world can be traced to the class
struggle, or the inequalities inherent to the capitalist system. Those
people who believe in Marx's ideas and work to implement them call
themselves Marxists, and may be socialists or communists.
Marx's life and work are described briefly in this biography.
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96may/marx.html
Communism is "[a]ny ideology based on the communal ownership of all
property and a classless social structure, with economic production and
distribution to be directed and regulated by means of an authoritative
economic plan that supposedly embodies the interests of the community as
a whole."
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/communism.html
Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization based
on collective or governmental ownership and democratic management of the
essential means of the production and distribution of goods. It can often
be difficult to define, since different people have different ideas about
what a socialist society would look like. There are a number of
similarities between socialism and communism, but they are not the same
thing.
"Socialism and communism are alike in that both are systems of production
for use based on public ownership of the means of production and
centralized planning. Socialism grows directly out of capitalism; it is
the first form of the new society. Communism is a further development or
'higher stage' of socialism." Thus, not everyone who is a socialist is
also a true Marxist/communist, although every Marxist/communist is a
socialist.
http://www.marxmail.org/faq/socialism_and_communism.htm
This excellent overview of Marxism, socialism, and communism (scroll past
the introductory information on anarchism) will help you understand the
influence of Marx and his theories, and the evolution of political
movements based on them until the present day . Highly recommended to
help explain Marxism, socialism, and communism and to put these
ideologies into perspective.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=129
This FAQ on socialism answers such questions as whether the experience of
the former U.S.S.R. demonstrates that socialism doesn't work. It is
written from a socialist perspective.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dmcm/Articles/FAQ.htm
This extensive Marxism FAQ was complied by the Youth for International
Socialism.
http://www.newyouth.com/archives/theory/marxismfaq.asp
Marxists are not necessarily opposed to war as such; however, Marxists
analyze war in terms of class struggle.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=131
Michael Albert of Znet (who advocates a system called participatory
economics) debates the merits of Marxism with Alan Maas of the
International Socialist Organization. Among his criticisms of Marxism are
that it will help bring power into the hands of a new elite, and that its
focus is often too narrow.
http://www.zmag.org/debateiso.htm
Marxists.org is an extensive Internet archive which has almost everything
you could want to know about Marxism. The information is available in
several different languages.
http://www.marxists.org/
A list of communist parties around the world.
http://www.broadleft.org/communis.htm
Whether you agree with Marxism or not, in order to better understand
these political theories and their impact on modern sociological thought
(which has been considerable), you may want to do some more reading on
Marx and post-Marxian theorists. Recommended to get you started are: The
Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx Capital, Karl Marx Theories of Social
Inequality: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives, Edward G. Grabb
LIBERTARIANISM
Libertarianism and liberalism once meant the same thing. Now that
liberalism is evolving into an ideology (in the US) that advocates some
government control, however, libertarianism can be seen as distinct from
liberalism. Libertarianism is:
"[a] contemporary 20th century political viewpoint or ideology derived
largely from 19th century liberalism, holding that any legitimate
government should be small and should play only the most minimal possible
role in economic, social and cultural life, with social relationships to
be regulated as much as possible by voluntary contracts and generally
accepted custom and as little as possible by statute law. In other words,
libertarians believe that the individual should be as free as is
practically feasible from government restraint and regulation in both the
economic and non-economic aspects of life."
http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/libertarianism.html
A FAQ on libertarianism.
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/libertarianism.html
This non-libertarian FAQ on libertarianism attempts to point out some of
the short-falls of the ideology, thus providing fuel for Internet
discussions with Libertarians.
http://world.std.com/~mhuben/faq.html
In this critique of libertarianism from Salon.com, the author notes: "In
its ironclad internal logic, its unswerving ideology and the fervor of
its disciples, libertarianism, like Marxism, resembles a religion almost
as much as it does a political philosophy."
http://www.salon.com/jan97/state970120.html
The official US libertarian response to 9-11 is outlined in this press
release from the National Libertarian Party (US). Among other things, the
party calls for "a foreign policy that limits our intervention in the
affairs and quarrels of other nations" and for US citizens to "remain
ever vigilant that terrorists don't win by turning America into the kind
of nation where our cherished freedoms are only a fading memory."
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=132
The Executive Director of the Libertarian Party (US) argues that the
greatest threat to American freedom is not terrorism, but the US
government's expanded powers, which are growing even more with the threat
of war with Iraq.
http://www.lp.org/lpnews/0209/fromthedirector.html
A short list of links to libertarian parties around the world.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=133
FASCISM
A brief introduction to fascism:
"Fascism tends to celebrate masculinity, youth, mystical unity, and the
regenerative power of violence. Often, but not always, it promotes racial
superiority doctrines, ethnic persecution, imperialist expansion, and
genocide. At the same time, fascists may embrace a form of
internationalism based on either racial or ideological solidarity across
national boundaries. Usually fascism espouses open male supremacy, though
sometimes it may also promote female solidarity and new opportunities for
women of the privileged nation or race."
http://www.publiceye.org/eyes/whatfasc.html
Benito Mussolini's definition of fascism, as written for the Italian
Encyclopedia in 1932, states:
"Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the
development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the
moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual
peace. It thus repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism -- born of a
renunciation of the struggle and an act of cowardice in the face of
sacrifice. War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy
and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet
it. "
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html
This is a list of links to some fascist parties/organizations, which
include Nazi parties.
http://dmoz.org/Society/Politics/Fascism/Organizations/
OTHER RESOURCES
This a list of political parties and interest groups in each country
around the world with links to each.
http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/parties.htm
CREDITS
Research this issue:
Joanne Comito
Maha Mikhail
Vicki Nikolaidis
Ben Spencer
Sharon Winn
Proofreading team:
David Taub Bancroft
Madlyn Bynum
Carol Brewster
Melinda Coyle
Nancy Evans
Mary Kim
Dagmara Meijers-Troller
Alfred K. Weber
ABOUT THE BULLETIN
The 9-11Peace.org bulletin is a weekly newsletter providing resources,
news, and action ideas to over 28,500 people around the world. The full
text of the bulletin is online at http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3;
users can subscribe to the bulletin at that address also. The bulletin is
a project of 9-11Peace.org. Contact bulletin@9-11peace.org for more
information.